Feb. 29, 2008

The George Mason men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday afternoon to take on Northeastern in the regular-season finale for both teams. The game, which tips at 2 p.m., will be televised on Comcast SportsNet. The Patriots beat Northeastern earlier this season, 80-52 at Patriot Center. The past four games in the series have been won by the home team. Last year, Mason lost at Northeastern, 73-50. The last time a road team won in the series was Jan. 2, 2006 when the Patriots beat the Huskies, 71-68.

The Patriots enter Saturday's game looking to clinch the second seed in next week's CAA Tournament. The Patriots currently have sole possession of second place. Mason can finish no worse than third and will have a first-round bye in the tournament.

Mason (20-9, 12-5) will lean heavily on a pair of seniors, Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell. Thomas is attempting to become just the seventh player in school history to average a double-double on the season. He currently is averaging 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds. He is on pace to finish his career first in minutes played. He will break the school record for games played on Saturday and holds the school record for games started. He has 14 double-doubles on the year, most in the CAA. Thomas entered this week eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage and 14th in rebounds per game. He leads the CAA in rebounding, is second in field-goal percentage and sixth in scoring.

Over the past 13 games, Folarin Campbell is averaging 20.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and he has scored 16 or more in all 13 of those contests. On the year, he's averaging 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists and he's one of three players in the conference among the top 10 in scoring and assists

The Huskies (12-16, 8-9) are led by Matt Janning who averages 16.0 points. Nkem Ojougboh is second in scoring at 10.4 ppg and he leads the team in rebounding at 6.8 per game. Manny Adako is shooting 56.3 percent from the field while scoring 10.3 points and grabbing 4.7 rebounds. Chaisson Allen is averaging 9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

Northeastern will celebrate Senior Night with one player, Mark Washington, being honored before the game.